WILLIAM (Bill) Cameron has been a fisherman for 42 years. He knows the industry inside out. West Coast Mart, the company he runs with wife Marica, operates four prawn boats from Holy Loch Marina and employs eight fishermen – all of them fully certificated. He knows what he is talking about.

When he contacted the Standard on Tuesday and asked to meet we jumped at the chance. Bill had read last week’s story about a report from York University claiming that the Clyde was being fished almost to the point of oblivion and wanted to make the case for sustainable, responsible fishing.

As we arrived at the marina Bill was unloading tubes (crates with compartments to hold individual prawns) for next week’s catch from a lorry. The boats were due ashore and Marica, originally from Jura, explained the process.
She said: “The boats are like little factories at sea. The creels, baited with salt herring, are hauled onto the boat and the prawns graded for size, then put in tubes. You can see the lorry from Eyemouth up there, once it’s unloaded those tubes the full ones will go on.”
With obvious pride she continued: “All the crews train for their certificates. People might say it’s just a dirty old fishing boat, but – with their papers - the boys can work on the ferries or any vessel.”
At that the smallest of the boats, the brightly painted Aeolus, approached the harbour. The crew, Alistair Mackay from Tighnabruaich and Ebo Salam from Iraq, set about unloading the catch. It didn’t take long.

At that, the larger vessel, Lorrine, then came into sight. A more workmanlike vessel that her stablemate, she was built in Wick. Marica introduced the skipper, Baz Dods, originally from Oban but now resident in Dunoon. She said: “Baz came to us through the New Deal scheme nine years ago, but now he is skippering for us. Bill taught him all he knows, and now he teaches Bill.” Along with Mate Raymond McCuish from Port Glasgow, Baz set about unloading the catch and, lorry unloaded, we went to speak with Bill.

The Islay man said: “I do a lot of the maintenance and repairs now, and let the boys out to sea.”
He then spoke about last week’s articles and the comments from fishermens’ association leaders. “They said there is a recovery in fish stocks in the Clyde. I can tell you there isn’t. Their figures come from the landings. These are recorded in the local fishery office and then the figures go to Aberdeen.
“The trawlers work all night to keep up their lifestyle. The landings are up because they are working longer, but there is a decline in stock.
“We work with pots. They do catch other species but when they are lifted we tip them over the side alive – we just take what we need.”

He then gave an insight into the dwindling prawn stocks on the Clyde. “We used to throw the number threes (smallest) back – but now we have to keep them as there are fewer ones and twos”, he said, “when we threw them back though, the trawlers would come along behind us and scoop them up.”

Bill’s disdain for inshore trawlers then became apparent. He continued: “In the cold of winter prawns burrow into the sea bed. Trawls have heavy chains which dig down into the mud, forcing the prawns up and into their nets. Everything else in the area is forced away.
“This is not a good method of inshore fishing at all.”

He continued making the case for the prawn industry’s sustainable working methods. He said: “The weather dictates when we go out and we can’t go out in bad weather. This helps to conserve stocks.”
At that Baz joined us and Bill paid tribute by saying: “Baz is an exceptionally good skipper, though I hate to say that when he is listening.”
Baz said: “The prawn size is going down without doubt, and we are lifting more creels to get the same amount as before.”

Bill concluded with a heartfelt plea: “Conservation methods need to be in place to secure a future for the industry.
“You can only catch the prawn once - you need to give them time to breed.
“Restricted areas need to be in place to allow this to happen.”

Nobody knows what the future holds for the Clyde fishery, but one thing is for sure – if other fishermen do not follow Bill and Marica’s sustainable example, the industry may be consigned to the history books.

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